82-year-old dies in blaze ignited by space heater

For more than 30 years, Arthur Broeker could watch planes take off and land at Port Columbus from his mobile home.

Allison Manning, The Columbus Dispatch

For more than 30 years, Arthur Broeker could watch planes take off and land at Port Columbus from his mobile home.

It probably was a reminder of the Air Force veteran’s better days, when he’d hop a plane and travel around the world. Two strokes and age, though, had made even walking difficult for the 82-year-old.

That lack of mobility is what probably prevented him from escaping a fire that broke out yesterday in the trailer where he lived alone, authorities say.

Columbus police said that a blanket on a space heater caught fire, which quickly spread. By the time firefighters arrived just before 8 a.m., Broeker was dead.

His daughter and three sons gathered yesterday outside his trailer at Mann’s Mobile Home Estates, 755 Stelzer Rd., talking about their dad.

He had good days and bad days, they said, but he was still a charming guy.

“He was so mobile at one time, and now he was reduced to a shuffle,” son Mike Broeker said. “He was kind of stuck. But he had his wits, and he was an entertaining guy. ...

“He was eccentric,” the son said. “And I think that’s passed down to us.”

Before Broeker began having health problems, he took full advantage of his veteran status, flying all over the world. When he was younger, he’d driven a Volkswagen minibus around the country. One of his favorite spots to visit was Key West, Fla., his son said.

“It should be a lesson to all of us,” Mike Broeker said. “Get out while you can.”